Retief Goosen is facing formidable
odds. Players returning to defend their U.S. Open championship have
not fared well the last 10 years.

Best finish: Tiger Woods, who tied
for 12th in 2001, following his record-breaking victory at Pebble Beach
in 2000.

Goosen says he's "going to try
my best to defend the title," when he begins play Thursday on the Black
Course at Bethpage State Park.

Why the trouble for the champs?
For one, there are more good players, making an already tough competition
ever tougher. Also, the defending champion must deal with a media blitz,
sometimes resulting in a loss of focus.

"A few more distractions might
be the biggest reason," says Corey Pavin, who tied for 40th in 1996,
the year after he won. "But it's a very tough tournament. If you're
off just a little, you're going to have a long week."

Goosen would like to duplicate
Curtis Strange's feat of 1988-89  the last back-to-back champion.

 Harry Blauvelt, USA TODAY

FARMINGDALE, N.Y.  Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, on
the short list of U.S. Open favorites, head a formidable contingent of players
with ties to South Africa.

Goosen, 33, from Pietersburg, is the defending champion.
Els, 32, from Johannesburg, is a two-time winner in 1994 and '97.

The two, who grew up competing against each other as teenagers,
are eager to add another U.S. Open title to their growing list of victories.

"I've got to pull my socks up now," Els says. "I'm not
getting any younger, so I'm looking for more."

Goosen says his win last year meant a lot to South Africa.

"Sports was struggling quite a bit there," he says. "The
reaction was unbelievable."

The U.S. Open begins Thursday on the Black Course at Bethpage
State Park. Goosen and Els aren't paired together but are likely to socialize
during the week.

Their friendship stops for a few hours each day as play
begins.

"On the golf course, we're not very good friends," says
Els, chuckling. "That's just normal. We are looking for quite a few more majors."

Els is getting impatient to notch No. 3. He's a better
player than he was five years ago.

"Guys have just played better than I have, especially Tiger
(Woods)," he says. "It's a lot tougher to win a major now than it was five years
ago, before he got to his peak. You've just got to play better."

Goosen plays frequently on the European Tour and makes
his base there in London. But he recently bought a second house two doors down
the street from Els in Orlando.

Both are playing well this season. Goosen is 10th on the
PGA Tour money list with $1,634,389, won the BellSouth Classic, was second to
Woods at The Masters and is No. 4 in the World Ranking.

Goosen's one problem since winning the U.S. Open in an
18-hole playoff against Mark Brooks, after three-putting the 72nd hole, has
been spreading himself a bit too thin. He's played well over 30 events around
the world since winning the Open at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.

"There was one stage where I was playing a little bit too
much and getting too tired," he says. "I feel more refreshed now."

Still, Goosen survived being hit by lightning on a golf
course when he was a teenager, so a putting faux pas or minor fatigue aren't
likely to sidetrack him.

Els is 12th in PGA Tour money with $1,589,441. He won the
Genuity Championship in February, one of his four top-10 finishes, and is No.
3 in the World Ranking.

Els, whose nickname is "The Big Easy," is the more outgoing
of the two.

Els
in U.S. Open

2001

Tied for 66th

2000

Tied for 2nd

1999

Cut

1998

Tied for 49th

1997

Won

1996

Tied for 5th

1995

Cut

1994

Won

1993

Tied for 7th

"Retief is a quiet, soft-spoken person," Els says. "He
keeps to himself. I don't think he would like a lot of hoopla around him."

And that's the way it's been for Goosen, who isn't mobbed
when he goes out to dinner or a movie.

"It's still great just going anywhere I want and not having
any of those problems," he says. "It's been here and there that people have
recognized me. It's been great fun."

The South African corps also includes Nick Price, 45, who
was born in Durban, although he moved to Zimbabwe at an early age.

Price, winner of three majors, tied for fourth in the 1992
U.S. Open and was fourth in 1998. He's ninth on the money list this season with
$1,636,333 and won the MasterCard Colonial, one of his six top-10s.

David Frost, 42, comes from Cape Town. He tied for 15th
in the 1986 U.S. Open. But he's missed the cut his last six times.